Ohio Wouldn’t Restore Early Voting Quite Yet

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said in a memo Tuesday that he wouldn’t restore early voting hours for all voters in Ohio until an appeals court examines a federal judge’s ruling that restored those rights. The state of Ohio filed a notice of appeal with the Sixth Circuit court on Tuesday.

“Announcing new hours before the court case reaches final resolution will only serve to confuse voters,” Husted said in his memo. “Therefore, there is no valid reason for my office or the county boards of elections to set hours for in-person absentee voting the last three days before the election at this time.”

The Obama campaign had sued the state to restore voting rights during the three day period before the general election, as had been in place during the 2008 election. The Romney campaign falsely accused the Obama campaign of trying to take away early voting rights from members of the military, who unlike other voters would be allowed to cast a ballot during that three day period under Ohio’s law.